Penny arrived in Pasadena and couldn't wait to get settled into her new old apartment. She had spent the last six hours on a plane with a mildly sedated cat as carry-on. After retrieving her keys from Amy and figuring out the lease information, Penny and George took a cab from a Starbucks to 2311 Los Robles Avenue.
When she left for New York, she sold her car. The subways and cabs were enough to get her around the city. Now she wished she had kept her baby in storage or something. As they sat in the back seat, George would occasionally meow at Penny through his kennel. She sighed as she looked at him, trying to scratch behind his ear through the gate of the kennel.
The cab pulled up, Penny paid the driver and took her cat out of the back seat and her luggage out of the trunk. She was thankful that the elevators were working in the apartment building and she didn't have to lug her cat and suitcase up four flights of stairs. Penny opened the lobby door and smiled at the sight of the mailboxes. She pushed the elevator button to go up and the doors opened. Penny got in and pushed the button to the fourth floor. The silence was a relief. The elevator quietly hummed as it climbed to the fourth floor.
Penny had been thinking about Sheldon non-stop for the past week, mostly about the time they spent together and what it was supposed to mean now. She was sure that he didn't know that she was coming back to Pasadena. After all, they had been texting since she had left, two weeks ago and he hadn't mentioned anything. She told him about what happened with Derek, Sheldon told her that he would be lying if he told that he was sad.
When she got off the elevator, she unlocked the door and walked into 4B. She was thankful she had the foresight to hire a moving company to move most of her stuff before she arrived. She was sick of sleeping on an air mattress that she left behind and living out of the few boxes that she had sent just before she left. Penny moved through the familiar apartment, she set down her carrier and let her cat out to explore his new surroundings.
After setting up George's food and water, she sat down on the unmade bed in her bedroom and let George rub up on her ankles. As Penny snuggled with her cat, she dug her phone out of her pocket. Sheldon was now on her favorite contact list and she quickly dialed the number, waiting for him to answer. The phone rang three times before he picked up.
"Hello, Penny. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Sheldon said. Penny grinned at the sound of his voice. He sounded slightly winded.
"I was just calling to say hello. How was your Christmas- I mean Saturnalia? Its new comic book night isn't it? Did you go?" Penny asked in a flurry of questions. She bit her lip at the sound of her hurried voice. She heard his keys jingle on the other side of the phone. Quickly, she got up to look through the peephole.
"My Saturnalia was pleasant, I went to Texas and visited with my mother and sister. I also got to see my Mee Maw. As for the comic book store, I did get a chance to go." Sheldon nonchalantly explained. Penny held her breath as she watched him unlock his door and walk inside his apartment, closing the door behind him. She felt butterflies invade her stomach as she leaned her back against her front door and exhaled.
"And what are you doing now Doctor Cooper?" Penny said in a curiously seductive voice, even though she knew what he was just getting home. She heard him laugh through what she imagined to be a smirk.
"Well, I just got home from my comic book excursion, but last night I discovered I don't have enough room on my hard drive for a Linux partition on my laptop, so I was going to perform a full backup, reinitialize and then reinstall all my operating systems. However, I could spare a few moments of my time to participate in some chit chat." Sheldon told her. Penny smiled as she rifled through her oversized purse that sat on the floor beside the front door.
"Just chit chat? I thought that was boring." Penny quipped as she pulled her laptop out of her purse and clutched it against her chest with one hand.
"Penny, please. What are you up to?" Sheldon offered, sounding genuinely interested. Penny opened her door and stood outside of her old new apartment with her laptop pressed tightly against her chest. She quietly closed the door behind her so the cat wouldn't escape.
"It's funny you should mention computers, because I was having some trouble with mine and I thought maybe you could help me." Penny said as she quietly tiptoed across the hallway to 4A.
"You're asking me for tech support? What do I get in return?" He quickly asked. Penny scoffed.
"What do you mean, what do you get?" Penny questioned.
"The term you seem to be devoid of is quid pro quo. You can't get something for nothing, Penny." Sheldon said. His voice was thick with smugness and Penny couldn't help but melt a little bit inside.
"I'll come visit you." Penny coyly told him. She could practically feel him smiling through the phone.
"What seems to be the problem with your laptop?" Sheldon quickly asked. Penny raised her hand and knocked on his door three times.
"Penny can you hold on, there's someone knocking at my door." Sheldon said. She grinned.
"Sheldon." Penny said. It had been too long. Penny knocked three times more.
"Sorry can you just hold on." He said.
"Sheldon." Penny replied in a pouty voice. Penny could hear him walking toward the door. She knocked again.
"Sheldon." She said into the phone. As she finished the knocking ritual, he opened the door. The look on his face was priceless. He looked confused, excited, and relieved all at the same time. Penny hung up her phone and smiled up at him as she tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jeans.
"I was hoping that you could overclock my processor." Penny suggestively said as she raised her eyebrow at him. She had searched the internet far and wide for that gem of a pickup line. Sheldon explored her eyes with what she could only describe as wonder. It was like she was one of his equations just begging to be solved. He licked his lips and gently touched her cheek.
"Penny, are you talking nerdy to me?" He finally mustered. She grinned and grasped his hand from her cheek and held it in hers, gently squeezing his fingertips.
"Affirmative." Penny whispered as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him softly. Sheldon held onto her hand tightly, she could sense a nervous energy between them. Penny pulled away and pressed her lips together. She attempted to etch the feeling of his lip against hers in her mind.
"Penny." Sheldon started as he took his hand from hers and brushed it through his hair. "What are you doing here?" He asked sounding utterly confused and taken aback.
"I was in the neighborhood and I thought I would drop by." Penny cheekily answered. Sheldon stared at her for a moment, his eyes darted across her face while he tried to make sense of the situation. Penny started to get the feeling that he didn't want to see her. Penny sheepishly smiled.
"I was just unpacking a few things and thought it would be nice to see you." Penny tried to clarify as she jabbed her free thumb toward 4B. Sheldon quickly nodded, Penny noticed that he was starting to relax in the shoulders.
"When did you come back?" He asked.
"Today. Are you not happy to see me?" Penny asked trying not to sound hurt. She didn't expect this reaction from him. She gripped her laptop tighter in her hand.
"Penny it's not that, I just didn't expect you and I don't particularly like surprises." Sheldon told her. He offered a quick smile. Penny nodded.
"It's ok, Sheldon. I should probably get back, my stuff isn't going to unpack itself." Penny quietly replied as she backed up a couple of steps.
"See you around." she said as she walked back to her apartment. She opened her door and before she could get back into the safety of her own apartment his voice thwarted her escape.
"Wait." Sheldon quickly said. Her heart pounded beneath her soft skin, she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She turned around, closing her door and he quickly walked toward her. Sheldon leaned into her and kissed her. Penny ran her hand along the back of his neck and through his hair. His lips were soft as they moved against hers. Sheldon pulled away and smiled at her.
"Have a good night Sheldon." Penny offered as she opened her door and slipped away into her apartment. She touched her lips with her fingertips and smiled as her cat circled her ankles. Penny continued her evening unpacking clothes from boxes and making up her bed. She ordered some Chinese food and settled in for the evening, listening to satellite radio on her phone.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Knock knock knock
"Penny?" Penny jolted awake.
Knock knock knock
"Penny?" She brushed her hair out of her face and looked at her alarm clock. It was 8:00 am.
Knock knock knock
"Penny?" Penny jumped out of her bed, threw an oversized t-shirt over her naked body and rushed to the door. She had to answer it before he started another round of knocks. Penny unlatched the deadbolt and opened the door.
He stood there in a black Batman t-shirt under his old man jacket with his messenger bag slung over his broad chest. Penny licked her lips and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked him over and he nervously twisted the strap of his messenger bag in his hands. Penny realized that she wasn't wearing any panties and though the t-shirt she was wearing was longer, if she raised her arms, she would have probably flashed him. She felt heat sting at her cheeks and quickly realized that she was blushing.
"Sheldon, I don't have a car. I can't drive you to work." Penny sleepily started as she tried to mask her embarrassment. Sheldon frowned slightly at her and cleared his throat. His eyes travelled from her bare legs to her messy hair. Penny felt suddenly shy and averted her gaze to the floor.
"I do not require you to drive me to work, Penny. I have my own car. I got my license shortly after Leonard insisted on carpooling with Amy Farrah Fowler, but that's not the premise of this visit. The reason for my early morning visit, was to inquire about your availability tonight." He quickly rambled off. Penny took a moment to process exactly what he was yammering on about.
"My availability? For what?" Penny asked. She tried not to sound angry that he had disturbed her slumber before 11 am. Sheldon shifted his weight onto one foot.
"A date." He told her like she should have known the answer. Penny felt like her breath was trapped in her lungs. She quickly nodded.
"I'm free." She said as a soft smile pulled at the corner of her lips.
"Good. Just so you are aware, Penelope, this date will be in public, so you'll have to find something more appropriate to wear." Sheldon said with a smirk. He eyed her taut thighs, letting his eyes settle on the hem of her shirt before flickng his gaze up to meet her shocked green eyes. Penny felt her blush deepen.
"I'll pick you up at 6:30." Sheldon said. Penny smiled and nodded once more. Sheldon turned and proceeded to walk down the stairs. Some habits die hard. Penny closed the door to her apartment and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She was going on a date. A date with Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Penny let out an excited squeal and ran back to bed throwing the covers over her body and waking up George the cat in the process.